The Impact of Colonial Beauty Standards on the Ethnic Identity and Mental Health of Filipina Americans

Abstract

As a byproduct of Western colonialism and imperialism, Eurocentrism has been generationally normalized as the archetype of beauty within Philippine culture and has transcended throughout the Filipino Diaspora. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study is to examine the relationship between Eurocentric beauty standards and Filipina American ethnic identity and mental health. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the experiences of Filipina Americans regarding their mental health outcomes and ethnic identity formation, while navigating Eurocentric beauty norms. A total of fourteen (n=14) participants were interviewed, in which eleven (n=11) participants identified as 2 nd generation Filipina American and three (n=3) participants identified as 1.5 generation Filipina American. Narrative analysis was further utilized to interpret and categorize significant themes that emerged from the interview data. This study identifies the following six main themes: (1) The overrepresentation of Eurocentric beauty standards in Philippine and American media; (2) Familial/generational reinforcement of Eurocentric beauty standards; (3) The harmful repercussions of Eurocentric beauty standards on Filipina American mental health; (4) Filipino-American: the challenges presented within the hyphenated identity; (5) Ethnic Identity is a process; (6) Filipino ethnic pride. Despite the growing research of Filipino American mental health, current research lacks distinctive exploration of Filipina Americans particularly, as this community is considered underrepresented within such studies.